Home Orthopedics Total Hip Arthroplasty Linked to Increased Survival for 10 Years

Total Hip Arthroplasty Linked to Increased Survival for 10 Years

Survival better than expected up to ~10 years after surgery; no significant difference at 12 years

THURSDAY, March 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is associated with increased life expectancy during the 10 years after surgery, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

Peter Cnudde, M.D., from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register in Gothenburg, and colleagues examined the correlation between THA and the potential for increased life expectancy using data for 131,808 patients who underwent THA between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2012; 21,755 had died by the end of follow-up. Patient survival was compared with age- and sex-matched survival data in the Swedish population.

The researchers found that for approximately 10 years after surgery, the survival rate was slightly improved for patients undergoing elective THA versus the general population. The survival in patients undergoing THA was 1 percent better than expected survival at one year after surgery; at five years this increased to 3 percent; and at 10 years the difference was 2 percent. There was no significant difference between patients undergoing THA and the general population by 12 years. Poorer relative survival was seen for patients undergoing surgery for osteonecrosis of the femoral head, inflammatory arthritis, and secondary osteoarthritis.

“Whereas it has been known that in most patients, THA improves quality of life, this study demonstrates that it also is associated with a slightly increased life expectancy that lasts for approximately 10 years after surgery, especially among patients whose diagnosis was primary osteoarthritis,” the authors write.

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